I’m looking for some advice and/or help. I will be visiting Japan in May 2021 for 2 1/2 weeks and would love to play a few rounds while I’m there. Money really isn’t of concern but I have two problems. #1 is I don’t speak Japanese and won’t be staying at a hotel so I cannot have a concierge set anything up for me. #2 is the people I’m traveling with have no interest in golfing and I know a lot of courses there don’t like parties of 1. Can anyone give me advice on how to get in contact with courses there or if there are courses around Tokyo that allow one person to play? I know I’ll have to travel a bit outside the city. I’ve tried resources like golfinjapan and as of today, none of my emails from the last two weeks have been answered. Any help would be appreciated.
Edit: I have done quite a bit of research and am aware of local rules as far as dress codes, lunch breaks, etc. the two questions asked are the only things I need help with.
3 comments
Check and see if any of your credit cards have a concierge service. Many AmEx cards do. I can’t help you with actual course recommendations, as I’m not a golfer myself, unfortunately.
Hakone has a lot of golf courses. Loads of rich people come to play so maybe look up hakone + golf. I’m sure there’s tourist friendly stuff. I know nothing about golf, only that it exists here.
Golf around Tokyo will be tough as a single, but not impossible. You may have better chances outside of Tokyo at resort towns like Karuizawa. Recently there has been a push to get more visitors to Japan to think about golfing during their stay and the organization created is the Japan Golf Tourism Organization.
http://japangolftourism.com/
Perhaps they can help point you in the right direction. If you do a web search I am sure that you will find a few travel companies who may be able to help you out as well.
I don’t know if you are planning on bringing your clubs, but you can always rent them at the course. The things I would for sure bring would be golf shoes, especially if you have larger feet size 10+ (they won’t have any rentals available in larger sizes), golf balls (a lot of them since courses are very tight and balls are expensive at the course) and tees (ditto on the price unless you are fine with plastic tees).
Golf in Japan is truly an experience in and of itself. Since you obviously have the interest, then go for it if the opportunity arises. Also make sure to check out some of the golf shops while you are in Tokyo. In particular, the used clubs are great and can be cheap if you know what you are looking for.